Current Affairs

Dr Azmi Sharom, an Associate Law Professor at Universiti Malaya says Professor Aziz Bari's comments on the statements by the Sultan of Selangor concerning JAIS' raid on the Damansara Utama Methodist Church, should not be interpreted as seditious. Aziz is a professor of law at the International Islamic University and is being investigated by the police for sedition.

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In light of the Himpun rally which attracted 5,000 participants, Ahmad Fuad Rahmat, a research fellow at Islamic Renaissance Front, explains why Muslims are not allowed to convert out of the religion in Malaysia when it is permissible in other countries, and what constitutes proselytisation, and what could be done to bridge the relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims. 

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Asked whether the water management system is to fault for the floods, he says that "what we face now currently exceeds our existing [water management] plan, with 30% more rain than last year due to typhoons". Boonpracong says that even with a "perfect" plan, the situation would have been as difficult to handle due to the change in weather. "Global warming has resulted in more unusual atmospheric activity with non-stop rain. If this happened next year, we would have more boats then," he said in a recent interview.

Commenting on mounting criticism levied at the government's handling of the flood, particularly on the lack of communication and miscommunication, Boonpracong said that the administration is only into its second month of power, and that the governor -- coming from the opposition party -- may not cooperate 100% with the current ruling government.

Recently, Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra invoked the Natural Disaster Law, which gives the prime minister full authority over officials in the county, including at special administrative zones and local government officials. "The Prime minister invoked the law to ensure everyone complies with orders of opening canals to release the floodwater, which is not being executed on the ground. It's a question of cooperation - people just don't do it, so it's hard to give information in the climate of uncertainty," he said. 

Boonpracong acknowledged that the early flood warning system is partly to blame for the floods, but added that the government will be better prepared now after undergoing this flood crisis. He said the government was in a "lose-lose" proposition with regard to draining the floodwaters through the districts in order to safeguard Bangkok. Critics say the government cares more about saving Bangkok than the provinces, and that it  reflects the socio-political divide. However, Boonpracong says that failure to save the capital -- the centre of tourism and economic activity-- will also be criticised. 

"The priority is to get the water out, then we can think about it...  there will be a comprehensive plan to deal with [floods in future]."

In the following interview, Boonpracong also talks about how Yingluck's reputation as Prime Minister has been affected by the floods.

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Cambodia has recently banned its citizens from going to Malaysia to work as maids, following reports of abuse, rape and murder in the country.

While NGOs have lauded the ban, critics are saying that a blanket ban -- without the consultation of the Malaysian government --  is "drastic and harsh" as only a minority of Malaysian employers abuse their maids. Jeff Vize, consultant at the non-profit Cambodian League for the Protection and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO), begs to differ, saying the ban is necessary to drive the political will of the Malaysian government to take measures to stop the few bad apples.

He attibutes the rampant incidences of human rights abuse to the lack of protection accorded to Cambodian maids working in Malaysia. "With a lack of protection, of specific clear policies, and noone to turn to, a situation like this is ripe for abuse," says Vize in an interview with BFM. According to LICADHO figures, an estimated 50,000 Cambodian women and girls have migrated to Malaysia since 2008. 

Vize says weaknesses in Cambodian legislation is to blame as well for failing to protect migrant workers. For example, the recently enacted sub-decree on the migrant labour does not specify minimum wage, working hours or require recruitment agencies to inform workers' families of their whereabouts. Cambodian legislation for migrant workers has also failed to curb human rights issues such as debt bondage, deaths inside pre-departure training centres, the recruitment of underage workers, illegal detention of workers, the facilitation of forged documents, and the failure to pay salaries.

LICAHDO will continue to advocate for the enactment of an MOU between Malaysia and Cambodia on labour exchange, he says.

In the following interview, Vize also talks about what provisions should be made to protect Cambodian maids, the need for heavier penalties towards human rights abuse cases in Cambodia as well as why the maid ban should apply to previously signed contracts in addition to fresh applications.

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Under Budget 2012, the PM has proposed an additional 10 million ringgit for free legal aid, bringing the total allocation to 15 million ringgit. Lim Chee Wee, president of the Malaysian Bar Council, discusses the weakness of the current system and how the allocation will help all Malaysians have access to justice.

He also talks about claims of abuse in the UK system, which was brought up in an article in The Sun, and how such abuses are not likely to happen in Malaysia.

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2011 has been full of political turmoil, natural disasters, economic woes and gyrations in business confidence. So how has all of this impacted Malaysia's tourism industry?

Johan Svanstrom, Vice President and Managing Director of Hotels.com Asia Pacific discusses how the recent currency fluctuations and devaluations in Europe have made Malaysia more attractive as a tourist destination. Two countries that have shown the most change: Australia & Japan. The currencies of both countries have strengthened against the US dollar, causing outbound tourism to increase this year. 

Most tourists to Malaysia are from the Asia region -- driven by growing affluence in China and India, as well as better air connections. 

Johan also talks about the average tourism spend in Malaysia, especially in the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions) segment, and how low cost carriers have influenced the average spend. 

Finally he gives up a prediction of what we can expect in terms of tourism trends, as we wind down the year. 

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Despite transformation efforts, Malaysia has slipped one place from last year to rank number 78 out of 141 countries in the Economic Freedom of the World: 2011 Annual Report. In 2006, it was ranked 25 places higher at 53rd placing.

Fred McMahon, Vice President of International Research and Director of the Centre for Trade and Globalization Studies at The Fraser Institute, discusses why Malaysia's ranking has slipped and the key factors behind it.

Malaysia's scores in each measurement category this year, compared to last year are:

- Size of government: declined to 5.55 point from 5.96 points in the last year's report

- Legal structures and security of property rights: increased to 6.54 from 6.24

- Access to sound money: declined to 6.50 from 6.58

- Freedom to trade internationally: declined to 7.23 from 7.27

- Regulation of credit, labour and business: increased to 7.61 from 7.55

(The Index measures economic freedom from a scale of 0 to 10, with 0 being thelowest and 10 the best.)

Malaysia did well in the field of "Regulation of credit, labour and business", in fact, it's score is very close to that of the top ten in this category. 

Malaysia's lowest ranking was in the size of our government. It could mean the bureaucracy is too bloated, in comparison to the size of the population. Even worse, we scored zero under the sub-category 'Government enterprises and investments'. This shows the level of government's involvement inthe economy through GLICs and GLCs is very worrying.

The Economic Freedom of the World: 2011 Annual Report is published by the Fraser Institute, in partnership with the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) in Malaysia.

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